High death rates and cancers plague Great Lakes City
Subject: Canadian organic farmers sue Monsanto over GM crops..............
Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 14:16:18 -0500
From: Stephen Tvedten <steve@getipm.com>
Organization: Get Set Inc. (www.getipm.com)
To: Paul Helliker <phelliker@cdpr.ca.gov>
Director, State of
California, Department of Pesticide Regulation
cc: Christine Whitman whitman.christine@epa.gov
Environmental Health Perspectives Volume 109, Supplement 6, December 2001
Community Health Profile of Windsor, Ontario, Canada: Anatomy of a Great Lakes Area of Concern
Abstract The rates of mortality, morbidity as hospitalizations, and congenital anomalies in the Windsor Area of Concern ranked among the highest of the 17 Areas of Concern on the Canadian side of the Great Lakes for selected end points that might be related to pollution in this relatively highly industrialized city. Mortality and morbidity rates from all causes were higher than in the rest of the province. Anomalously high rates of diseases included various cancers; endocrine, nutritional, metabolic, and immunity disorders; diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs, nervous system and sense organs, circulatory and respiratory systems, digestive system, genitourinary system, skin and subcutaneous tissue, musculoskeletal system and connective tissues; congenital anomalies, and infant mortality. Of particular concern was the early onset of the elevated rates of many of these diseases and conditions. Comparison of these incident rates with those in Hamilton, another industrial municipality in southern Ontario, suggested that in addition to a variety of local sources of industrial pollution from automobile manufacturing and use, transboundary air and water pollution from Detroit, Michigan, should be investigated as potentially important causes of these health outcomes in the Windsor Area of Concern. Some of the institutional and political trends of the past decade may need to be reversed before effective remedial programs are implemented for cleaning up contaminated sediments and for containment of leaking hazardous waste sites. This pilot project would seem to be a useful preliminary method of integrating human health concerns and of priority setting for the administration of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement and the Canada-United States Air Quality Agreement. Key words: injury to health, methodology, transboundary pollution. -- Environ Health Perspect 109(suppl 6):827-843 (2001).
http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2001/suppl-6/827-843gilbertson/abstract.html
Death rate in Windsor raises fears No ready explanation for rates that are 'significantly higher' than national average
Tom Spears The Ottawa Citizen
Friday, January 04, 2002
Spooked by high rates of death and sickness in Ontario's southern tip that have no obvious explanation, health experts are asking: What is killing the people of Windsor?
The industrial city and nearby towns have death rates "significantly higher" than the Ontario and Canadian averages -- eight per cent higher than the Ontario average for men in Windsor and five per cent for women.
In total, there were 979 "excess deaths" over a seven-year study period in an area of 274,000 people.
Cancer rates among men are seven per cent higher than the Canadian average, and 10 per cent higher in the age group from 45 up. Windsor people's hearts and circulatory systems are a mess, too.
Windsor's men check into hospitals at a rate 21 per cent above the Canadian average. The women's admission rate is 15 per cent above average.
And the patterns of excess disease and infertility are showing up among young to middle-aged men and women and even newborns, a trend researchers say is "of particular concern."
Yet the researchers found that another Great Lakes industrial city not far away, Hamilton, had far fewer problems of early sickness and death, and was in fact pretty close to normal in most health categories.
Despite all the similarities of climate, population, water pollution and heavy industry, they say "the community in Windsor has much higher rates of morbidity (sickness) and mortality than Hamilton, suggesting there are serious public health issues" in Windsor, possibly caused by a broader spectrum of pollutants.
The study is by James Brophy of the Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers and Michael Gilbertson of the International Joint Commission, the Canada-U.S. agency overseeing the Great Lakes. It is published in the December issue of Environmental Health Perspectives. The study used data from Health Canada and the Canadian Institutes for Health Information from 1986 through 1992.
The diseases occurring at elevated rates cover a sobering range: lung cancer, cancers of the digestive and reproductive systems, lymphoma, leukemia, heart and circulatory diseases, chronic bronchitis, diabetes, asthma, ovarian failure, diseases of the immune system, thyroid disorders, infertility, endometriosis, degenerative nerve diseases (including Parkinson's), and on and on.
There are high rates of birth defects. The 149 girls born with heart defects from 1986 to 1992 were 53 more than would have been expected. The 13 girls born without brains were three times the expected number. Baby boys had similarly high rates of serious birth defects, including club feet and water on the brain.
Ordinary air pollutants such as smog aren't enough to explain the difference, say Mr. Gilbertson and Mr. Brophy.
However, there are traces of many industrial chemicals floating in Windsor's air and water at levels that sometimes cross into dangerous territory -- things like 1,3-butadiene, formaldehyde, benzene, cadmium, and a host of solvents from petroleum refineries, chemical plants and carmakers.
"Windsor is the largest Canadian centre for building automobiles" and has many metalworkers, the paper says. "In addition, Windsor residents are downwind of several large coking operations in Detroit associated with steel production."
While the Canadian Auto Workers formed a "Clean Water Alliance," the study notes, there are always tensions between workers and environmentalists "because of concerns among workers about jobs."
The authors say exposure to many pollutants can cause some of these problems. Lead exposure causes hypertension, for instance, and many of the industrial solvents and metals in the air cause cancer or damage the immune system.
But smoking and alcohol are also health threats, as are workplace hazards such as asbestos, and they say it's too early to say what is injuring the health of people in Windsor.
This task is made harder, they say, as various levels of government back away from environmental work, as evidenced by the closing of Health Canada's program studying health of Great Lakes communities in 2000.
People have known for years Windsor has high rates of some diseases, such as asthma. But Mr. Gilbertson says this is the first time anyone has studied a wide range of diseases and causes of death.
"The contrast that we bring out with Hamilton was a surprise to all of us," he said.
The community wants three things, he said: Wider investigation of the links between pollution and disease, enforcement of environmental laws, and closer ties with health officials in Detroit "to try to find out whether they have the same kinds of incidence of disease over there."
The authors suggest the nearby city of Sarnia should also be high on someone's study list.
Long battered by leaks from its Chemical Valley and by the widespread use of asbestos, the community has sunk into "an implicit sense of fatalism" and semi-acceptance of high rates of disease, reflected in the words of a dead worker's daughter: "Sarnia men die young."
© Copyright 2002 The Ottawa Citizen
Windsor Star
Disease study calls for action International effort By Star Staff and News Services
The co-author of a report outlining high death and disease rates in the Windsor area is hoping to spur government to action to deal with the problem.
Michael Gilbertson, a member of the International Joint Commission, is hoping the report in the December issue of Environmental Health Perspectives will enable researchers to understand the elevated levels of disease and its relation to pollution, force the government to enforce environmental standards more vigorously and create greater co-operation with American authorities.
"We're thinking in terms of building a coalition with our American counterparts," said Gilbertson.
Gilbertson and co-author James Brophy of the Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers will be holding a news conference on Jan. 17 to discuss the report, which is compiled from 17 Health Canada reports between 1986 and 1992.
Windsor and Essex County have death rates "significantly higher" than the Ontario and Canadian averages -- eight per cent higher than the Ontario average for men in Windsor and five per cent for women. In total, there were 979 "excess deaths" over a seven-year study period in an area of 274,000 people.
Cancer rates among men here are seven-per-cent higher than the Canadian average and 10-per-cent higher in the age group from 45 up.
Windsor people's hearts and circulatory systems are a mess, too.
Windsor's men check into hospitals at a rate 21-per-cent above the Canadian average. The women's admission rate is 15-per-cent above average.
And the patterns of excess disease and infertility are showing up among young to middle-aged men and women and even newborns, a trend that the researchers say is "of particular concern."
Yet the researchers found that another Great Lakes industrial city not far away, Hamilton, had far fewer problems of early sickness and death and was in fact pretty close to normal in most health categories.
Despite all the similarities of climate, population, water pollution and heavy industry, they say "the community in Windsor has much higher rates of morbidity (sickness) and mortality than Hamilton, suggesting there are serious public health issues"in Windsor, possibly caused by a broader spectrum of pollutants.
Ordinary air pollutants such as smog aren't enough to explain the difference, say Gilbertson and Brophy.
However, there are traces of many industrial chemicals floating in Windsor's air and water at levels that sometimes cross into dangerous territory -- things like 1,3-butadiene, formaldehyde, benzene, cadmium and a host of solvents from petroleum refineries, chemical plants and carmakers.
"Windsor is the largest Canadian centre for building automobiles" and has many metalworkers, the paper says. "In addition, Windsor residents are downwind of several large coking operations in Detroit associated with steel production."
People have known for years Windsor has high rates of some diseases, such as asthma. But Gilbertson says this is the first time anyone has studied a wide range of diseases and causes of death."The contrast that we bring out with Hamilton was a surprise to all of us."
Design and contents copyright The Windsor Star ©2000 The Windsor Star Group Inc., a CanWest company.
National Post January 4, 2002
Study finds oddly high death rate in Windsor No clear cause for 979 'excess deaths' over seven years
Tom Spears Ottawa Citizen
Health experts say people in Ontario's southern tip are getting sick and dying faster and more often than people in the rest of the country.
Windsor and nearby municipalities have death rates "significantly higher" than the Ontario and Canadian averages -- 8% higher than the Ontario average for men and 5% for women, says an environmental health study.
In total, there were 979 "excess deaths" over a seven-year period in an area of 274,000 people, according to the study, published in the December issue of Environmental Health Perspectives.
The researchers are not sure why this happens, though they did point to industrial pollution blowing over from Detroit as a possible culprit.
Cancer rates among men in Windsor, an industrial city with an economy based on the auto industry, are 7% higher than the Canadian average, and 10% higher among those 45 or older.
The study was conducted by James Brophy of the Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers and Michael Gilbertson of the International Joint Commission, the Canada-U.S. agency overseeing the Great Lakes.
The study looked at 17 communities on the Canadian side of the Great Lakes, calling them "Areas of Concern" and using data from Health Canada and the Canadian Institutes for Health Information from 1986 through 1992.
The study found men in Windsor check into hospitals at a rate 21% above the Canadian average. The admission rate for women is 15% above average.
And patterns of above-average disease and infertility are showing up among young to middle-aged men and women and even newborns, a trend the researchers said was "of particular concern."
The researchers said the health problems could be caused by a broader spectrum of pollutants, including those from the U.S. city of Detroit just across the St. Clair River. "Transboundary air and water pollution from Detroit, Michigan, should be investigated as potentially important causes of these health outcomes."
They compared Windsor to another Great Lakes industrial city, Hamilton, and found its residents had far fewer problems of early sickness and death and were close to normal in most health categories.
Despite similarities in climate, population, water pollution and heavy industry, the study said: "The community in Windsor has much higher rates of morbidity (sickness) and mortality than Hamilton, suggesting there are serious public health issues [in Windsor]."
The diseases occurring at elevated rates in Windsor cover a broad range, including lung cancer, cancers of the digestive system and reproductive system, lymphoma, leukemia, heart and circulatory diseases, chronic bronchitis, diabetes, asthma, ovarian failure, diseases of the immune system, thyroid disorders, infertility, endometriosis, and degenerative nerve diseases (including Parkinson's disease).
There are also higher rates of birth defects. The 149 girls born with heart defects from 1986 to 1992 were 53 more than would have been expected from the provincial average.
There were 13 girls born without brains in the area under study: three times the expected number.
Baby boys had similarly high rates of serious birth defects.
Ordinary air pollutants are not enough to explain the difference, say Mr. Gilbertson and Mr. Brophy.
However, there are traces of many industrial chemicals floating in Windsor's air and water at sometimes dangerous levels, including 1,3-butadiene, formaldehyde, benzene, cadmium, and a host of solvents from petroleum refineries, chemical plants and automakers.
"Windsor is the largest Canadian centre for building automobiles," the paper says.
"In addition, Windsor residents are downwind of several large coking operations in Detroit associated with steel production."
The authors say exposure to many pollutants can cause some of these problems. Lead can cause hypertension, for instance, and many of the industrial solvents and metals in the air cause cancer or damage the immune system.
But smoking and alcohol are also health threats, as are workplace hazards such as asbestos, and they said it is too early to identify what is injuring the health of people in Windsor.
This task is made harder, they say, as various levels of government back away from environmental work, as in the closing of Health Canada's program studying health of Great Lakes communities in 2000.
People have known for years Windsor has high rates of some diseases, such as asthma. But Mr. Gilbertson says this is the first time anyone has studied a wide range of diseases and causes of death in the area.
"The contrast that we bring out with Hamilton was a surprise to all of us," he said.
He said there should be further investigation of the links between pollution and disease, tougher enforcement of environmental laws, and closer ties between health officials in Windsor and their counterparts in Detroit "to try to find out whether they have the same kinds of incidence of disease over there."
The authors suggest the nearby city of Sarnia, 100 kilometres northeast of Windsor, should also be studied
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